This event was the second scheduled event for the NSW Pattern Flyers in 2010.

Charles Kingsford Smith MAC was very generous in allowing the aerobatic boys the use of their fantastic flying field. The runways, and surrounding turf farms are a brilliant place to fly.

Pre entries on the Pattern Flyers web site indicated that 16 or 17 pilots would be attending, a little low in numbers but a great number for a relaxing event, all that we needed was a good day and the weather Gods were certainly looking down on us as we had almost “dead calm” conditions, the air was very dense and unbelievably nice to fly through, “smooth as silk” comes to mind as a description.

Everyone arrived early and got organised, the pilots briefing was called and introductions made for those pilots that were newcomers. Due to the relaxed mood of the day we elected to fly all classes on the one flight line, this was a bonus as it  allowed everyone to have a chat and watch the planes and flying styles of the other pilots.

First group to fly were the Expert and Advanced classes.

ADVANCED

Dale Powter (Bathurst) was flying his trusty Extra sport model, and showed that he has been practicing during the “off season”. Well done Dale, sorry that you drew the short straw for first up!

Long time aeromodelling stalwart Felix Nieuwenhuizen made a return to aerobatic competition with his OTOP ARF powered by YS140 and had a “Ball” really enjoying himself, this airframe / powerplant combination is an excellent platform for the middle classes in aerobatics. I think Felix went home with a smile that had been on his face from the minute he arrived.

Jason Arnold was showing off the power of his AXI electric powered SPARK, this is a full blown F3A aerobatic machine and is now being finely tuned and flies beautifully, Jason just needs to adjust his flying style to the power of this combination and will be  real threat to the Expert pilots pretty soon.

We now come to the “Italian Stallion” Joseph Costa from Sutherland Shire Sports Fliers. Joe snuck under everyone’s radar at this event and quietly went about his craft.At the end of the day he had won the class and “just” missed a promotion point by 0.9 percent. Joe flies a CA Model Eclipse ARF with OS160 two stroke motor and has impressed some of the pilots in sportsman class that they are now buying and building the same aeroplane / powerplant combination. If anyone wants to follow Joe’s flying style make a booking with Tom Prosser, Iam told that lessons are inexpensive.

EXPERT

Shane “First Officer” Austin, really flew magnificently at Pitt Town, he appears to have finally sorted out his engine probs and therefore set about wiping the floor with the rest of us. His smooth flying techniques are a real joy to watch, Shane did so well that he picked up his first promotion point and it wont be long before he picks up the next two and moves up into the F3A class.

Doug “Chief” Tebbit from Nowra is becoming a thorn in the side of your scribe. Great bloke is Doug, he missed a couple of events late last year and we were beginning to question his commitment but we’ve heard that he is back working on his Black Magic project and is reinvigorated by his success at Pitt Town. Bring it on “chief”.

The less said about me the better. There will be better days. (I hope anyway)

Next group up to the flight line was the bigger group of Sportsman and F3A.

F3A

Amazingly John Payne from up FNQ ( Rockhampton way) showed up unannounced !

(“Gavman” had apparently convinced John to come to Sydney for painting lessons, of all things)

Paynie was showing all of us boys what a “Tempest” goes like, pretty impressive it was too!

Gavman on the other hand was demonstrating his skills by using a glorious gem of a plane called “Azurit”.Now, whenever these two get together there is always trouble brewing, so you will have to use your imagination of all the pranks that they played thoughout the day, certainly kept us looking over our shoulder for mischief.

Of the seven pilots in F3A, four were flying electric powered models, two were YS four strokes and one OS two stroke. Two were flying full F3A imported ARF’s and the balance were flying self constructed airframes all of which were local Australian designs.

Tom “The Master” Prosser (Nowra), Chris Swain (Canberra), Bill “Blinky” Garrod and David McFarlane (Wollongong) and Peter Nieuwenhuizen (Sydney sometimes) padded out the rest of this prestigious class.

David and Chris hammered it out between themselves for the top places and it is fantastic to watch the skill of these guys. Don’t ever underestimate the skills of the other pilots though as they truly show their mettle at each of these events. Certainly gives the pilots in the other classes something to strive for.

SPORTSMAN

This is the entry level class for newcomers, and is currently being led by young Daryl O’Brien from Wollongong. Daryl has been kicking around in Precision Aerobatics and Scale Aerobatics for a year or so now, but seems to be making a real effort of late, and it shows in his flying, he now has two promotion points and only needs one more to move up into the Advanced class, yet he flies a readily available sport ARF and shows how easy it is to be a participant. He certainly has improved since we first saw him come along!

Michael Streeter ( Pitt Town) joined in for his second event. Michael flies a Great Planes ARF called  “Venus II” and has powered it with an OS 120AX. Michael used an electric powered Sebart Angel 30 at his last event and then went home and put together the Venus. His Venus looks great and his confidence has really grown ! These machines will certainly carry any pilot through the first two classes in Precision Aerobatics.

Some of the regular pilots in this class were missing (something to do with school commitments and overseas trips) and we hope that they are able to sort themselves out in preparation for the big two day event in Wollongong.

CONCLUSION

Well, we had a great time! Good weather, good flying and good camaraderie.

We only flew three rounds for all classes and this allowed us to finish at a respectable time for those travelling long distances.

The venue is probably the best that NSW has to offer, so a special thank you to the members at CKSMAC for welcoming us.

These events don’t happen without the assistance of people, and it is truly rewarding to be able to say thank you to all the participants because everyone helped at one or more times throughout the day. Thanks fellas and thank you ladies !

Our very capable photographer has been at her best and provided a lot of photos of the days activities. Please visit the NSW Pattern Flyers web site and have a look.